Socialist Press no. 48

STRIKE AGAINST

WAGE FREEZE

ONLY STRIKE ACTION CAN STOP THE CUTS!

STOP

GENEVA

TALKS!

While the leaders of Zim- political babwe's black parties strain to agree some with sort of compromise the imperialism across conference tables of Geneva, the real . 6,000 miles away struggle against white racism in Zimbabwe is intensifying itself. Smith, hoping to take advan- tage of confusion among the black behaviour masses created by the of the "Patriotic Front" of Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe, has returned to Salisbury to supervise his regime's biggest military often- against the freedom sive so fighters. On at least two occasions in the last months white Rhodesian forces have invaded Mozambique and refugee attack guerilla For the whites this is a camps. attempt preserv heir racist system in the face of a massive build up of guerillas.

Far from Geneva, a guerilla fighter are now reported to be There freedom fighters 2,000 Zimbabwe itself and probably as over the border. Although

HOLLY

Smith's defence expenditure has third this year com- risen by pared with last, and although the and airforce have army

WILLC

the sophisticated weapons, Rhodesian military is not partic- includes black large and troops who Smith knows he may be able to rely not on ll the makes many liberation struggle more gains.

BLOODIEST

month has been the The last bloodiest of the war so far.

The have black liberation torces conducted a number of successful attacks, including one in they killed nine assistant district commissioners, whose

OLIC

"strategic police the

12CKS 15 10

villages" into which 250,000 been forcibly peasants have Cont'd back page, col 5.

SOCIALIST

PRESS *

Two pay strikes are now in Midlands progress component firms which chal- lenge the most basic plank in 'social contract the TUC's with the Labour government - the 42% wage limit. While only small numbers of workers are as yet involved, such struggles represent the feelings of the vast majority of the working class, which accepted

PARS

the pay deal. Both claims result from time- workers finding their wages falling At rapidly behind piece-workers. Rubery Owen in Darlaston, demanding increases of £10-£20 per week voted unanimously last Friday to con- their dispute which tinue British already shutting

COWI

Leyland factories in Birmingham Oxford and Abingdon; and Transmissions twenty-four heat Birmingham, also treatment workers are PHOTO: Chris Davies, Repor Callaghan Their case is a common one, affecting millions payments subject flat rate strictly to the pay freeze, while piece work rates, which cannot be controlled in the same way, have continued to rise. employers are only The too aware that the example of these could be dynamite struggles within the working class, and could trigger a whole series ol struggles over wages from sections only held back with difficulty by bureaucratic union leader- their ship. spell Such struggles could doom for the social contract, and the end of the road for the right-

CAR COMPONENT WORKERS

government, which wing Labour now on its knees before the is IMF investigators, and offering to further slash working class living exchange standards in additional loans.

PRESS BLACK-OUT

It is for these reasons that the first imposed a virtual blackout on these disputes, Tory going to great lengths to suppress demands of the strikers though in the usual way even the tiniest dispute in British Leyland is seen as good headline material.

Only as Leyland actually faces closure has the dispute begun to receive any prominence. section of workers But fighting to maintain IVIg must now come up against not only the 'voluntary policy, but TUC-government pay the entire weight of their own union bureaucracy. This emerged most clearly in case of the seamen, whose entire union was threatened with expulsion from the TUC and with TUC organised scabbing to smash the NUS as a union. Murray And the Rubery Owen strikers officials to told by have been The workers' to work.

TCLUISE

was short and sharp response they excluded the officials (along with from their the press) meetings! denied the officials the This of adopting chance their most of harping on frequent tactic "isolation" and the supposed of their members weakness in the attempt to defuse struggle.

the central question Indeed being raised by workers on wages, is not whether it is necessary to

FORTNIGHTLY PAPER OF THE

WORKERS SOCIALIST LEAGUE

No 48 * December 1st, 1976 * 10p wage-cutting; but the wage freeze only on the owne fight the CBI and the Labour govern

TUC

bureaucrats and ment are already drawing up thei this positior telling proposals for a stage three of wag workers to sacrifice everything t control. "save the Labour government" but how to fight under conditions The whole of the effort of th where the officials do everything leadership of the working class i to ensure they fight alone.

concentrated on preservin now All the time the officials keep the pay freeze. At the centre o telling workers they are weak, and is the Con their manoeuvres that any struggle could bring the (theoreticall munist Party, return of a Tory government.

wage control) whos opposed to But they ignore the fact that tactic of calling for a "return t miners showed that a Tory the collective bargaining afte government can be defeated. The July 1977" in order to get th task now is to prevent a Labour 4½% accepted this year is nor out being adopted by the right-wing.

government carrying policies, and if this brings the fall about orestent the of the the blame

BESI

Callaghan-Healey leadership, and the spineless 'lefts' who refuse to fight to remove them.

NOT CONCERNED

In any case, as TUC leader Len Murray showed in a state- ment to the Sunday Express, the union bureaucrats themselves are not at all concerned to save the NUM Gen. Sec. Dal: Labour They government. are prepared to the такс Where this manoeuvre is n same treacherous deals even with the diversion of "frin adopted, Margaret Thatcher so long d benefits" is dragged out - as they preserve their own privileged the case of the seamen, and no positions. He pointed out that: with the right-wing miners' leade "any government that treats calling for 'early retirement, wi the trade unions fairly will get fair mention of basic wage no treatment from the trade unions.

should Obviously

TERES

Workers face a historic "yes" for industrial now action crisis of leadership. early retirement - but this shou On the one hand the working Cont'd back page col 5 class shows its willingness to fight GoL

IRPORT B

MÜCZ

DISNES TON

ALONDELIC VE

FIGHT DONS

FIGHT

THE CUTS

THE CITS

SAVE

CED

JOBS

Part of the 80,000-strong march and lobby on November 17th. See pp4

ITALY: ImF demands wage cuts

LEBANON : WITHDRAW SYRIAN TROOPS!

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The political shadow-boxing government spending, that the in the Italian Parliament last production costs of Italian indus- try drastically cut in order to be week the relationship over restore theit protits. with the Vatican served prin- cipally to disguise questions of

SAVAGE CUTS

more direct class importance.

Andreotti is The minority now demanding Christian Demo- cratic govenment of Papal protege that the 'escalator" clauses 0111 into many wage agreements, which Ginlio Andreotti . kept in office only by Communist Party support provide for automatic pay rises reflecting increases in the official presented the Chamber of cost-of-living index, should be Deputies with a new draft pact with set aside. Vatican which preserves most of the economic privileges for the The effect of this - with price inflation continuing unabated Church Mussolini's written into In AIl basic consumer goods will be 1929 Concordat. swift and savage cuts in real wages.

COMPLETE FREEZE

The of the trade willmeness union bureaucrats even to consider Meanwhile the Stalinist and these demands splotlights how little Social Democratic leaders of Italy's the 'escalator' clauses have to do trade union confederations with a sliding scale of wages under began 'consideration' of the workers" control - the only policy legal wage-cuts demanded by the IMF.

that can actually defend workers' withdrawn living Andreotti has his standards against price increases. proposals for a complete freeze on The "escalator' clauses, in any increases wolullet But the IMF is now insisting, as case, have never given anything like the condition for a further loan to full inflation. protection against support the lira and underwrite And now, in the hands of the

SPAIN:

Repression stepped up Spain's Francoist regime opposition and probably marks the end of the Democratic Coordin- secured a large majority in the ation. Cortes, fake parliament, the The regime's "opening towards "democratic" constitu- for its democracy" has coircided with the tional reform. further stepping of up pouncal This will now be submitted to a repressive measures. national referendum of December 150 members of the LCR-ETA 6 15th. (sympathising section of the "United" Secretariat of the Fourth In this democratic referendum campaigning for abstention (the International) were arrested while. policy of virtually all the workers' parties, including the Stalinists and Sebastian in monastery near San reformists) will be considered illegal the North. and,; Interior Minister Martin Villa In Madrid five members of the implied, repressed without mercy.

Communist Party were arrested for Only officially registered distributing leaflets. political parties wil have radio and Action against the striking build- elevision time: that excludes all ing in Euskadi has

WULLCIA

continued, parties except the few composed of meetings of workers Franco's ex-cabinet ministers.

being violently broken up by armed The bourgeois of the police. Such actions parties be Democratic Coordination, however, expected to mount as the regime along the tries with small reformist suppress signs Product Soc list Party, have, with a independent activpoltica. trade predictable lack principle, during the UnIon indicated that they will participate referendum. in the referendum. The last weeks has it This breaks previous agreements brought militant demonstrations within the class collaborationist trom a new source Nowhere in the world today An agreement was foisted on the Palestinians in Cairo 26th is the truth of Lenin's aphor- on October and early in November the sm that the state consists of 'green berets' of the Syrian "peace- special bodies of armed men keeping' force were be seen more vividly illustrated than in Lebanon throughout their Lebanon during November. second and much more successful invasion of the year. With the disintegration of the Lebanese army and the develop- allrab League, low ot of of popular ment

MECHE

behalf of the Arab ooe Ardu bo the bit as t aced the Syrian troops even bothered to bourgeoisie A als the insignia other ot the with the serious problem of which organisation and a number of the particular ,body armed men and threatening tanks carried large could represent their interests.

looking pictures of President Assad.

the The careful balance Lebanese constitution between dif-

BATTLE-WEARY

facinel ios shonted br tae factions shattered As late as 10th November, when advancing Palestinian Revolution the Syrians entered Beirut, no news and the pro-CIA, pro-Lionist from Phalangist forces who were and any Arab Wo0pS country had been received by the remain active. correspondents in the country

FORGOTTEN

Despite the battle- Toups ol Faced with the bloody confron- the weary propic wo tation between these groups troops arrived, despite the fact that Lebanon, all the conflicts within the Phalangists still wander around Arab ruiling the Tarious in their uniforms, the of groups, purpose "Progressive' reactionary, this invasion was to hold back the and ach disagreements those advance of the Palestinians.

between Egypt and Syria weIe As the Times correspondent put forpotten. it on 15th November: bureaucracy, they are being turned into bargaining counters at part of the 'historic compromise' whereby the Stalinist and Socialist Party chiefs back the Andreotti-IMF attacks on the working class.

At the same time the threat. is being that if living levelled standards are not cut in this way will suffer they through other policies basically transferring employers' and

NUWRI

YOGUILY

insurance contributions into taxes falling directly on workers.

In Italy as in Britain the role of the IMF - acting as the undisquised of Américan economic instrument imperialism demand (and - is ło get) the fullest cooperation of the labour bureaucracy in forcing through policies to make workers, and workers alone, burdens of the economic crisis.

SMOKESCREEN

de by the stitcas ande ben nade by Democratic deputies over relations Vatican are nothing more than a smokescreen to divert from In Barcelona Madrid and hundreds of women have protested against the trial of a woman under Spain's barbarous adultery laws.

Women face imprisonment of "It is President Assad, not Sarkis (nominal President of the and the administration of security justice, he physical rebuilding of Beirut and the political credibilit!

of Mr Sarkis are all dependent on the Syrian that army sprcdu itself across Lebanon." Ihe reason was sary to mobilise the strength of all factions warring of the Arab bourgeoisie was clear from some of the reports that came out as the HUA alY LUA UY» From Tripoli in the North came the news of the rule of the leftist- Palestinian alliance in the city in

ORGANISED

Faroq Moqaddem, commander of the leftist-Palestinian told reporters how they had set up their own police force, courts and a theatre. They had even run the tele- phone systein. As Moquaddem put it: «We have organised our own affairs and that is the reason we fought in this wat. It was not about religion...what wanted was contral of our lives." their collaboration in state-imposed wage-cutting. The Communist Party leadership in particular feels the need to political rescue cabial ton themselves in this field. Their sup- among working particulaliy women, is threatened by the fact that they have all along sought to reach reactionary compromise the Church against the

WATEE

provision of abortions. The fact that the Church enjoys all the privileges and power it does on Italian soil is the direct respon- sibility of the Communist Party. It was Stalin's faithful servant in the leadership of the CP, Palmiro Togliatti, who demanded in 1946 that the between agreement Mussolini's tascin state and the Vatican should be written intact into Italy's post-wai "democratic' constitution. Their inclusion was opposed even by the Social Democrats, but Togliatti acting with the full approval of Stalin demanded them 'in ordeI alienate not to ourselves from Christian wotkers."

Spanish police in action.

For up to six years for adultery.

men (who are anyway hardly ever prosecuted) Atiser agrant is only offence persistent." Whatever the efforts of the Syrians and their backers at this poînt, the struggles of the Palestin- ians and the Lebanese working class mena ot this kind in the future, on inevitably throw phèno- many forms.

OPERATIONS RESUMED

The P'alestinians have clearly resumed operations against their Zionist enemies. Battles at sea were 22 ed meer the trst tra and or November the first raid into Gallilee for some months.

will not be held back by They the Phalangists who operating are with the Israelis quite openly now in the southern part of the country in am effort to prevent Palestinian raids being resumed there.

The Syrians of course are leaving the border area free for this.

It would be interesting to know which aspect these were discussed in the meeting on 19th November between fascist leader Amin Gemayel and Soviet diplomat Vladimir Kolotoucha.

Whatever dirty deals are hatched up in discussions such as this, there can be resolution the struggles of the Palestinians and

DENMARK

govt fights for life Denmark's minority Social Democratic is government for its life against fighting working growing class resis- reactionary tance to its policies The government's policy is to testrict wage increases to 6% a year from March 1977 for two years. Its problem has been how to prevent this policy being destroyed before it even begins.

DRACONIAN MEASURES

unofficial strikes series OI over the last weeks culmin- few unofficial ated last week's 12,000 oil stoppage by tanker drivers which threatened to bring industry and transport to a halt.

Jorgensen's Social Democratic with government agreed bourgeois parties,. whose parliamen- tary votes keep it in office, on a wage and price freeze until March along with draconian measures against all strikes (which are already to large fines if they last subject more than two days).

POLITICAL CRISIS

This agreement was rejected out of hand by the TUC, under collosal from increasingly pressure militant workers. Democrat The Social leaders then withdrew their proposals, thus threatening their parliamentary majority. This political crisis gives the working. class the opportunity to make a giant stride forward in des- troying state wage control but only with the most principled and decisive leadership, which the TUC unable to has shown itself quite offer. Lebts e mases unter the agree, ments worked Moscow or anywhere else. As the Times correspondent expressed it with some accuracy on 20th November: have Syrians experience in police operations, are just beginning realise TO European armies have in the past two decades - that peace keeping is not a role in which they can neces- sarily expect the support of the population.? Th oe sanberno doi t bim taay 'lack of support' ultimately express itself in terms of the most violent and bitter struggles.

The Syrian troops must be with- drawn and the Palestinians allowed pursue their just struggle for national liberation. As on other question, the every road to the liberation of Palestine goes through a struggle against the bourgeoisie of the Lebanon and their masters in Damascus and their patrons in Moscow. The need for sociatist programme to bring together the disparate efforts of the Arab masses is made necessary now more than ever.

SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday Ist December, 1976.

FRANCE:

CP woos the middle classes The split in France's main "leaders' official of the labour movement? Far from leading any capitalist political grouping, struggle working unity class between Gaullist the UDR, draw behind it the Cola supporters of dismissed Prime intermediate social layers who are Minister Jacques Chirac and threatened by the economic crisis backers of President Giscard and inflation, they are busy seeking allies from the disintegration new d'Estaing has reached an acute of ruling "majority" the point with the Lullaway Parliament. of his own. constit Chirac success

NEW PLATFORM

elections in uency. His supporters are now planning leader Georges build a national campaign to the demagogic, anti-working class support among the middle classes from which Gaullism traditionally drawn its strength.

At the same time tne ment, d'Estaing's Minister, preparing the ground for wage cuts, giving support to the French equivalent of the CBI further legal limits on pay rises.

price controls on the products of relaxed at the beginning of January, leaving controls only over services and small businesses. The throw its weight with a behind the demands of big capital for higher profits. of shopkeepers, support small farmers all businessmen, In outflank ine middle class lavers who will be the squeezed in the process. ultra-reactionary nationalism on its reaction of the Marchais What is the oWn ground, and his

THE WORKERS

SOCIALIST LEAGUE

The Workers Socialist League is a Trotskyist organisation fighting to build a revolutionary leadership in the working "left" and right class in opposition to the betrayals of both wing Labour and union leaders and the Communist trade In the daily struggle to take the demands and principles of Trotsky's Transitional Programme into the trade unions, the WSL forefront of the fight for the sliding scaie of wages, and work sharing on full pay - demands which at the 1975 T&GWU Conference were the alternative to Jones' £6 pay plan and the wholesale acceptance of redundancies by the bureaucracy. In today's fight against the TUC's 4% cutting deal with Healey this demand for a sliding scale of wages (rising according to the rising cost of living as assessed by trade union committees) is the essential basis of consistent opposition.

In the Health Service WL comrades have led the struggle for a sliding scale of NHS spending, for the start of workers' control of the service (beginning with opening the books of the Health Authorities), along with the fight to end all private practice. Perhaps more important we have led the growing call for strike action to defend the NHS against the cuts and leadership who substitute the words for the actionte ASTMS and NOPE In London this policy has already won a big response with the one- workers in the area struck and 400 marched to • In local disputes also, WSL comrades have tested and developed the demands of the Transitional Programme, putting forward in every case the only real opposition to the Stalinists and the right-wing. Our struggle for the "open the books" demand in the motor industry and against all forms of "workers' participation" have won mass responses.

At the time we have put forward policy fight to day action against the closure of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital the fight to mobilise the trade union movement.

The

WSL

the only movement that fights consistently for 1S transitional demands, going beyond mere trade union militancy to pose the political issues to workers.

In doing this our comrades have been forced also to lead struggles for trade union democracy against the bureaucratic manipulation of the Stalinists and right-wing.

But our struggle for the continuity of the principles of Trotskyism is in no way a task confined to Britain.

It requires an attention and involve- ment in the international struggles of the working class and moves to rebuild the Trotskyist Fourth International So while many interventions in Britain have developed the League's grasp of Trotsky's Transitional Programme, there has been a consistent drive to deepen and enrich the movement's understanding of the history and the present crisis of the Trotskyist Fourth International, essential part of any serious initiative towards its reconstruction.

We urge all readers who agree on the need for revolutionary leadership and the demands we put forward to find out more about the WSL an join our fight in the labour movement.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

accomplices in the bureaucracy in fact pledge themselves to oppose tooth and nail independent any mobilisation of the working class to defend their and basic wages conditions - a mobilisation which would immediately bring workers into the sharpest opposition Gaullists and 'Radicals' of every. stripe. The fact that, in the period. since 1968, a section of Gaullism the elbow room to has regained begin rebuilding reactionary political basis is a thorough indict- collaborationist of the the 'democratic ine tollowed by eaders of the French Communis Party. Less than 6000 on "Peace' march The reactionary nature of the Northern Ireland "peace people" clearly was again demonstrated last Saturday.

The organisers of the 5,900- strong march were given unfettered access to Tratalgar Square - a right which has been systematically denied to those fighting British rule in Ireland. Moreover, hundreds of both to attendance, shepherd the flocks of nuns and assembled intimidate and harass the antee peoples porciest militants who protesting at

"TRAGEDY"

The speeches from the platform Not one reference of course was made to the material basis of that presence there given to the "peace people" by the the media and the British Communist Party - less than 6,000 people turned out to support the rally. A limited step towards a fight for a principled lead on the struggle for Irish liberation was taken at the Student Conference on Ireland held recently at Kent University.

attended by over 100 delegates and affirmed that the fight for principled positions on Ireland The conference failed to clarify what programmatic basis this fight would be conducted - and this is a central weakness.

But the general orientation represents a possible basis lor and basis the elaboration coberent struggle to get the troops out of Ireland. According to General Pino- chet there are now fewer political prisoners Chile in than there are in the United Kingdom. After the release of several hundred prisoners

OVEI

the last three weeks there n ail. These claims, only 18 still in jail. Communist include the Party General Secretary Luis Corvalan. whom Pinochet demagogically offers to release , in exchange fol Bukovsky, Vladimir Soviet the dissident. The claim of course is utterly fraudulent. Some of those released in the last month have already been rearrested. case the official figure is In any arrived at by excluding about 1,100 prisoners who have gone through some kind of trial" and conviction. Also left out are those who since the coup of 1973 have (in the official "disappeared" jargon) means that which in most cases they have been murdered by the DINA, the secret police. dictatorship The Chilean has discovered that, when it comes to asking for money from the United States agencies, political prisoners are more _oi a problem than dead ones. Release can be made the condition of a loan; resurrection cannot.

MURDEROUS

This year, therefore, thave poor- tion of opponents who have appeared detention has risen from 5% in at monry so best over 50% in recent months. These appearances" are now believed to number about 2,000. The same murderous technique is being used by the Argentinian military dictatorship whose head, General Videla, has just paid friendly call on General Pinochet in Santiago. Videla's police have never issued lists of those it has arrested.

In recent weeks they have been Page 3 Chilean troops round up 'suspects

SOUTH AMERICA

stop arms to dictators! claiming dramatic successes "left pitched battles with the Peronist guerillas, the Montonerds.

There is evidence, however, that hieh ratio of the suspiciously guerilla police casualties Is to influenced by the dumping of the "dis- "unidentifiable" bodies of appeared" detainees at the scene of the battles. This probably god ersives killed to books had number OI Plata after a in injured eleven policemen.

Embassy The Buenos Aires has produced a report on civil rights in Argentina the State Department refuses to release, even to members of the US it Congress who commissioned under the Arms Trade Control Act Leaks say it is «dynamite" since it shows the of senior army generals in organising the ultra- right death squads.

FAILED

The events of the last month have shown that, despite all the bloody Videla repression, the dictatorship has failed to crush the fighting ability of the working class. A major strike of electric power Buenos Aires lasted a workers which • point the regime

JOJATAN TA

moved to draft the strikers into the Even army. . then go-slow continued, bringing frequent power cuts to Argentina's main urban and industrial centre. In addition, work at the has been cut y nearly a half as s result of a go-slow by dockers.

It is the responsibility of the Transport General Workers and Union in Britain to effect immed- and concrete solidarity with late this action by blacking work on all ships from or to Argentina *Black all trade with the Chilea and Argentinian dictatorships!

*Force the Labour government to impose & total economic and arms boycott! *Send the to workers resistance movements! One of the Argentinian political prisoners is Jose Paez,

lage. *COl

COLOSE HOST

BOOHSE

BRANCH

NO CUTS

COHSE

SAVE THE

N.H'S

KRAMBOFE:

COHSE'

VERO

JOBS

S

AVE

the cuts StOP nalgo says

GIVE & PUBLIC SERVICES

ASSOCIATUN

ondon Arco Committee to giving 200 teachers from all over militant teachers. the country met at an open eft-wing conterence November 20th in London. Many organisations were present - the International Marxist Group, League International Communist (ICL), other radical and left group- non-aligned well ings to fight the wishing of bureaucratic leadership workers National Union of Teachers (NUT).

conditions. Many members of the Only were "Rank and File' group, disillusioned with the dead end centrist politics of the International Socialists (IS) social who dominate it. Workers Teachers the Socialist League (WL) attempted to the conference win programme of struggle against the of

ALT

leaders and in defence ence the social democracy, 'unity'. services. jobs and pay. smaller had different Others. however. voted ideas. Tes =aring sau discussion of a carefully design-

TEE: :50:200.

support for ei i sicil i serious questions of decreases profit: mi edership F. as iea that gours like the them increases.

EXIENU

AND

DEFEND

THE

NHS:

In the face of a two week occupation ation and attacks on overseas

SAVE

Medical students, the Middlesex Poly, Dr Rickitts, Research came out in support demands of the occupation.

These demands opposition to the increase in fees and Tene overseas students.

OPPOSITION

passed by the academic the Poly ition to all fee increases and stating that: should fees be level by paid 1976/773 Education Committee Joint controls the finances of the Poly to "oppose any recommendation from students fees.°

DES

November 10th was seen clearly by involved all cuts in education defence of one

HAN ATS

FIGHT T

THE CUTS (E

, 35

SAVE

JOBS

TEACHERS ALLIANCE

political leadership consist 0I blank is found to They aimed to get 'unity' at any policy cost and give birth to yet another 'rank and file' centrist organisation.

teacher who Speakers for the WL's resolu- membership subscription tion pointed out that the 'unity' of €2 and when little a handful of people meant suggested unless it had a programme which could give perspective and leader- thing was not lost ship to thousands of teachers. and defence of their ignored. policies like the sliding The platform scale of wages and public spending, nationalisation of firms milking the dry for protits, what the public works to expand education organisation should be. and provide jobs, could do this by rejecting capitalist crisis and point- ing the road out through workers' control towards socialism But the leaders of the confer- is a paper unity. pleas for abstract stuck to And though the IMG at a founding of a 'Socialist year had conference last almost for discussion on a identical to that of the WSL, they demonstrated yet again that their and then no votes were taken!

transitional -demands fast as as the audience and the possibility of a fight for policies are to be, and what it will do!

CUTS

ENFIELD SIT-IN WINS

DIRECTOR'S SUPPORT

this victory does not mean that fees will not increase next term. They against discrimin- will. This is because the Joint Educa- of director Committee will overturn the tion decision of the Academic One Polytechnic in isolation cannot of the change government policy.

half It was ironic centred on through the occupation racist circulars from the recent DES circular on government came the Labour Party and Trade Union Congress demon- stration against racism. crisy of the Labour leaders must be fought at every level in the Labour The director proposed a motion Party and the trade union move- board of ment. which called for oppos- the occupation what Middlesex Poly does willingness of students to extreme "In any event overseas students fight this Labour government.

decreased to the students in reflects the growing home class within the workine its rights and attacks on His motion further called on the which standards.

CAMPAIGN

Yet the only increase

OVERCEN

government policy is by a nationai and The occupation which started on campaign of by students and tions as a fight against against all cuts. the and not just in Throughout there were demands and calls upon However section.

FIE FIGHT

FIGHT

THE CUTS

FIG

FIGHT IS

THE CUTS

JE

THE

S.- A

FIGI

O1S JOB

FIGHT

THE I

THE CUTS

SP

SAVE

OBS

November 17th.

FOLROSE

Perhaps the new journal is to until Till them? The fill spirit of compromise for apolitical best grasped the

BATTERSON

proposed an annua of £2.50

TROTSINISH

£3 had been Yet the absurdity of the whole 'on all present. workers press Many speakers pointed out that all the important questions had been conceded that

SOCIALIST

another conference should be held

PRESS

early in 1977 which should discuss programme of the new It is the outcome of that con ference which will provide tea reas Don mennesed the Oppos Alliance'. All that exists at present expelled from ition Workers Revolutionary The end result of it all was the with Party in Teachers account of the expulsions.

Alliance', along with a journal. The Price £1 plus 20p 'Guide to Action' came only in the last half-hour - Icies of the bat organisation organisation SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday Ist December, 1976.

out the NUS Executive to carry such a policy in the interests of its members. This was in no way taken up by the Stalinist dominated Executive.

Yet the large numbers of students Board. of the hame stands in sharp sharp Parliament stands contrast their leaders to against complacency. The calling off the motion Labour Enfield occupation contained the if demands that the statement passed by Academic Board are not This hypo implemented by January 31st 1977 then further direct action should be taken. meeting And at the same passed calling for motion was at to joint union committee show is the the coordinate action between unions in the Poly against the cuts.

This This committee was also called opposition to the upon to: "gather all information neces- living sary to the non-implementation of the DES circular and the policy of overseas discrimination against students. to change Within context the fight this against the cuts at Middlesex will occupa- Whether it is next term. workers successful depends upon the success campaign of direct occupation of a national action against the cuts.

FIG

FIGHT 24

HHT

HUPE SAYS:

FIGHT

THE CUTS C

FIGHT CUTS

SAVE

THE CUTS

JOBS

SAEBS

SAVE

JOBS ES

JOBS

Above and left: leading sections of the 80,000 strong national demonstration and lobby of Parliament against the cuts on

BBOOKS

THE TRANSITIONAL

PROGRAMME

The Death Agony of Capitalism and of the Fourth Inter- the Tasks .....30p national... (p&p: 10p)

TROTSKYISM TODAY

BACK ISSUES

Problems and "Fourth International Tasks" . 15p "In Defence of a Great Revolutionary: James P. Cannon" by Tim Wohlforth 10p "The Post-war Reconstruction of Capital.

ism" plus a reply to Wohlforth's article on Cannon. "The Generai Strike"". of the Transitional "The Significance Programme"....... . Sp • 5p "Political Revolution 1956" p&p: 6½p p&p All titles available from WSL, 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London NW5 1HR.

WORKERS' CONTROL

STRIKE ACTION IS

THE ONLY ANSWER!

EGA-SUPPORTING ACTION VITAL

SOCIALIST PRESS, Mednesday Ist Decerter, 1976.

Ta DIVIS The occupation of the Eliz- abeth Garrett Anderson hos- pital for women in London is now in its third week. Over that period support for the to save the

EGA

campaign grown daily and increasing numbers

THE

HOSTILITY

throughout whole of the workers' move- the ment to the Labour government's programme of massive cuts public spending was clearly reflec- ted in the 80,000 strong demon- stration through London November 17th. But the complete refusal of the leaders of the public sector unions to lead any struggle beyond such will only be protest strengthened indigthen that a serious fight to such clear is now absolutely cuts possible given only a clear national call. Indeed the complete contempt by the Callaghan govern- shown ment for the huge demonstration The occupation at the Eliz- abeth Garrett Anderson hospi- tal in Central London is the beginning of the fight against being hospital closures implemented by the Labour government.

EGA

workers have shown the fighting cuts in way forward in general and closures in particular.

However the unanimous vote for result of the occupation was a bitter experiences the staff had been through in their struggle for the defence of the hospital against Health the Area Authority and Barbara Castle, the then Minister of Health. It was only when all protest actions and pressure to change the government's policy like lobby- ing the AHA and discusssions with Labour MPs - failed, that the staff themselves tonk action to kean the

ISSOCTION OF INTINCTECHNICAL & MARC

astis nEXTSTEP: of workers from outside the hos pital are now supporting the 24- hour picket of the main gate.

So Area Health Authority has made move to by break the occupation moving equipment and the paciellio. the latest Tumours suggest on the 17th November was shown only days later with the announce- of plans ment for wholesale closures of London hospitals and the devastating attack on the rate support grant - which even govern- will slash ment sources further 20-30,000 jobs local government, along with a whole range of services, while jacking up the rates for every working class family. The alternatives are therefore

EITHER

there has be clear. to prolonged, all-out strike action in each and every area and sector each and every cut in manning, in services or conditions is threaten- ed, - with the demand for national OR the cuts will be support; hospital open. As the NUPE shop steward told Socialist Press: "It was Barbara Castle who she first broke her promise offered whole unit at • the Whittington but ended up offering.

only 3 odd wards, which meant we conidn't have operating facilities and our own nurses. It is they who broke their word, and the AHA never consulted the unions."

The occupation has had the complete support of the patients, who are not only backing the fight by the staff to defend services but are also themselves joining fight. When asked what she thought of the AHA policy of closing the hospital, one of the patients told Socialist Press: "It is a disgrace. I will give full staff, they do support to the marvellous inh. I blame the Tahour PHOTO: Courtesy of Camden Chronicle, EGA workers demonstrating during a one-day strike earlier this year.

overnment's plans to close the EGA by the end of December havi now been postponed till March.

There are two reasons for this: firstly the Whitting- the waras al Hospital which ton are OClE renovated to accomodate a reduced EGA service will not be ready until wormed through by manoeuvres, back-stairs deals with union officials, attacks concentrated on unorganised sections of poorly 'natural wastage', and the workers, whole battery of means available to the administrators. In this context, the new moves

NUPE

local by particular, officials to call restricted one-day 'token' strikes must be seen as part of the continuing efforts of the bureaucrats to restrict the struggle and harmless against the cuts to useless protest. This Labour government takes from the labour its orders not but

IMF

movement, from the mobilis. bankers and only ation of the industrial strength of Fisher government. I think Members of Parliament should take a cut in Parliament Page 5 the New Year; and, secondly, the tive of workers' needs. AHA hope that by postponing any Nevertheless, the only way in which such expansion of services confrontation with the workers at can take place without increasing the hospital, they will occupation to die a natural he workload on the present stat s by demanding the ÂHA provid death.

PLACATE

Such a policy is completely in At present the leadership of the compatible with the AHA's plans to visionding Nicers

NUPE

and occupation save money by closing hospitals and Asting into the hands of the Alre

ASTMS

Divisional poses the question of a workers' inquiry into the finances of the not enforcing control AHA as well as those of the drug EGA workers and in attempting to and medical suppliers. placate the EGA consultants by allowing management control

SUCCESSFUL

the running of the hospital.

By failing to call mass meetings Such a programme would of the workers the leadership of the occupation in the hands of been lion ficials been kept firmly wOrkers would unite hospital workers in the area as wel and remains a protest activity as local labour bodies in albeit a more forceful protest than into the running of the NHS and it lobbies of MPs and petitions the along those lines that which have hitherto dominated the occupation needs to develop if it is S004. to become a successful fight against by not calling on their member government cuts. hospitals ship urroundin to stage supporting strikes, they are One real step in the fight to save the EGA workers isolated leaving EGA has been the calling of a the from the mass of hospital workers Conference on December 11th by in the area. Joint Stewards the

EGA

Shop Committee to discuss not only the

CONTRAST

experiences of the occupation but In spite of this the occupation also the future campaign to defend represents a real step forward in the the NHS as a whole. fight against hospital closures and This conference is open to dele by its very existence opens the way gates from all working class organ- for the development of elements of and NHS Shop Stewards workers control. Committees and trade union Already there is talk in the branches are especially encouraged hospital of the need to expand the to support it. Credentials (50p) can

EGA

possibly by the services be obtained from: well woman' opening of either a clinic or a menopausal clinic.

These seen as ways Tim Shallice, Chairman,

ASTMS

improving the hos- Central • treatment at London Medical Branch, pital in line with the needs of the Highbury Wilmington House, local community and are Crescent, London N5. the marked contrast to govern- ment's closure of hospitals irrespec- fight for the the public sector unions must access accounts, future plans and manning national level, fighting for backing from other sections of workers, can levels in every area of the public sector - Open the Books! prevent the cuts proceeding.

The call from November 17th *This will the main suppliers profiting from the public onwards must be therefore to resist The books these absolutely and principle the sector. slightest erosion of manning levels, industries must be opened also, in the fight nationalise them, services and conditions once the cuts have well under without compensation and under way the

SOL

that stop the rot workers' management. Igol To will be much harder. We say clearly: *Demand the restoration of the *Strike to Stop the Cuts in each social service budget in full, linked to a sliding scale of spending to are"Demand national strike action protect against inflation.

*Demand the left' Labour MPs support make Fisher, Drain 10 others 'Stop the Cuts: Save cuts by voting against and oppose the them in Parliament and fighting for Jobs. *To the of the Callaghan- removal reveal the true picture, Healey leadership! elected trade • union committees «They should fight the cuts by Ambulancemen, too, have given voting against them in Parliament.

their support - refusing to take any patient out of the hospital without As for the Social Contract: the agreement of the shop stewards.

"What kind of contract is it that The occupation has drawn out and unemploymenti 010Ik some very important lessons for the Under these conditions Alan Fisher

EGA

workers in particular and should give us support, which he workers in general. has not done up to now. After all, EGA fight is It is clear that the the November 17th demonstration against the policies of the Labour made the feeling of the. working government, and because of this the people clear. EGA workers in their struggle have Clearly as the struggle to defend "left" exposed the role of both the

EGA

means taking on govern- wing Labour MPs their trade and ment policy, the way forward must union leaders. be to widen the struggle. As Arthur These issues were brought out Churchley said: NUPE shop by Arthur Churchley, "We need suppose. Tall with in interview stewatd hospitals facing closures. Socialist Press: support must not be in words only "We are in occupation to save but they must do what we do."

the EGA and we are aware that this The proposed all-London means taking on the government's solidarity on 11th conference policy", he said. December is a step forward in this Asked his opinion of the 'left direction. MPs his reply was clear:

DEFEND THE METHOD

OF THE TRANSITIONAL

Lessons from the split in the Workers Internationalist League (Greece).

This is the concluding instalment of the Document by the Communist Internationalist League, (the expelled majority of the Greek Workers Internaționalist League. The majority of the WIL were expelled after the intervention of Gerry Healy, (then General Secretary of the British Workers Revolutionary Party) acting in the Page 6

PART FIVE.

The petty bourgeois Healy sect their puppets are today eating in the struggle to prove at the split in the WIL stituted by Sklavos We will the facts. But Hore that, let us ask: Why should *lavos split? there erhaps one member of the even IL who did not consider that a shing political defeat of the clique would have been tain in a party conference?

the Healy sect and their appets are really in a position to ppose Sklavos' critique of their ations on philosophical and blitical questions, they have hands all the related docu- eats and they can do so publicly, * it even now.

PROPHET

Let them prove in this way that e split 'organised' and "per- was etrated' by Sklavos because he was defend at his ews in front of the whole Inter- Committee and the embers of the WIL. Let them prove in this way that left in panic in the face of the " of their critique! We do the not want to play but we are afraid rophet that eir mighty suffer from corrigible. damp powder! Let us take the most nOW portant of the facts, in their dual sequence On 9th April 1975 proposed short draft Com- solution the Central ten the the

WIL

the caramantis Government against tactics the The text of the draft was sent mediately to the iC and tor the jiticism of the English leadership.

It is true the draft resolution is ot characterised by maturity, but contains a central idea which was athor, and which he now defends This idea summed up in the blowing extracts: "The objective situation in the untry ripe for the socialist from solution every point of The consciousness of the orking class is determined by this But pective situation. not lt d echanical and automatic way...

•Tie clearly we are going rough this preparatory period, period of preparation of the litical and organisational pre- for conquest her by the working class.

This eparation has not yet proceeded ugh. On this basis, we consider the slogan "Down with Kara- does not correspond to the character of the eparatory v dov and do ne of forces of correlation ciess struggle and to the level of relopment of this struggle...

"hihile our strategy is character- ad by *he rerolutionary character

PROGRAMME

name of the International Committee of the Fourth International.

The first four parts of this document have outlined the political differences between the leadership of the Greek section and the leader- ship of the International Committee of the Fourth International. This concluding section gives an account of the split itself - in which thi veneral Secretary of the Greek section was expelled, in circumstances extraordinarily similar to the expulsion in Britain of some 200 members of the Workers Revolutionary Party by the same leadership in 1974.

Healy... hysterical" Banda... "a mistake' of the period we are in, in our This method employed by the leading clique of the WRP, aimed at tactics we must take into account the concrete correlation minimising the importance of the of class forces and. to popularise our political questions and diverting the so programme by formulating approp- members from studying them with riately our slogans without retreat- the necessary zeal. They had much success in this attempt. In this first document Thornett We considered then, that the criticised the method of the WRP slogan "Down with Karamanlis*, leadership in essentially the which was a slogan for immediate spirit as that the draft resol- activity, was disorientating the ution presented by L. Sklavos.

organisation by Thornett

WRP

accused the preparatory character of the period leadership of having a mechanical we were Hi relationship of In our view this was limiting the conception of the economics and politics, and that in struggle to the level of propaganda formulation of its slogans the and practice the Healy "starts only from leadership negation of the struggle foI the the economic basis". overthrow lot Karamanlis and was disarming the organisation in tront

EXPELLED

Stalinists within the • The mass He put forward the question of struggles. We shall citing the following soon present quotation from Trotsky: extensive analvsis of the obiective of this situation and a concrete determin- "..the achievement strategic task is unthinkable with- ation of the tasks of our movement.

We will there have the chance to the most considered attention out all, small partial refer extensively to the question of and the struggle for the overthrow questions of tactics. Transitional Programme, p8.

the Bonapartist government.

That meant that the secretary of For the time being we only want to show that with the submission of the

WIL

put forward these conceptions to the IC while a short this document the IC, the time before Thornett and a number factional activity of the leadership of members of the WRP had been of the WRP against the secretary of prevented organisational the WIL began. by At that time neither the first measures from presenting essentially same questions to the document by Thornett nor Banda's had yet been translated it the party and had been expelled on reply to the eve of the conference.

or circulated in Greece. The leadership of the WRP had was impossible that the Greek fraudulently presented the question secretary of the section Thornett as being an should receive any different treat- 'organis- ational' question and ment, when he presented the same was views. steading storv that had left the party and refused to Healy and Banda started working factionally for the expul- were trying to

GINCES

wnne Iney sion of the secretary of the Greek "persuade" him to stay in the party and defend his views at the con-

SOCION

In the last analysis this meant terence working against the section itself, in the sense that they did not care about what would become of the

WIL,

as they had the chance to declare openly. (See "Monistic o Dualist Conceptions of History" by L. Sklavos, Ito be published by Folrose Books in the Newy Year, Ed]). And they would rather see the section liquidated than face additional problems while they engaged in a life and death struggle against Thornett's critique.

They proposed and they got the postponement of the Greek confer- so that it would take place ence, after the conference of the Inter- national Committee. During the international confer- ence they tried to uncermane the prestige of the secretary of the Greek section, and at the end of it they proposed the signing of an • enigmatic document where it is stated that 'The IC does not aim at creating a traction within the Greek section".

REJECT

The enigma of this document has now been solved. In the Greek conference that followed, the IC was represented by Banda who attacked the whole line of the leadership tremen- sowing cous and disonentating the members completely. Our organisation was never as its 7th Confer- confused as after where it was obliged, atter Banda exploited the prestige of the IC, to reject its whole previous policy without haying anything to put in its place. Banda personally attacked and used insults against those comrades who were warmly supporting the views of the secretary within the Central Committee. He was SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday December Ist, 1976.

, obviously told who they were and he tried to morally intimidate them. We can say that he succeeded in this attempt. The next stage was at the Inter- School. There, after national certain lectures by Slaughter on Marx's Theses on Feuerbach, and by Healy on the basic conceptions oi matter in motion, the secretary of the Greek section found himself disagreement with their philo- 1n sophical conceptions which bore no relation to dialectical materialism • represented Kantianism but rather and relativism.

SCANDAL

But when they were criticised, Healy and Slaughter reacted hyster- ically, as panic-ridden bureaucrats.

Within the school, Banda held private discussions with the rest of the Greek delegation, advised them to start fighting for the expulsion of the secretary Healy was obliged to intervene He to avoid a scandal. stated in front of all the Greek delegation that Banda had made a "mistake" he was..."separating the and that opposites" At the end of the school statement was presented according to which L. Sklavos should present his conceptions in writing to the IC for discussion. This statement aimed at prevent- ing the discussion by intentionally referring to the danger of a "split" It also stressed that the discussion would tion o the l place under the direc-

STRANGLE

The statement said that the national leve Were...on differences Cree, with a meting beren te with a meeting between the Central Committee of the Greek section and the IC, (the represen tatives of which would naturally be the leaders of the WRP!)

In the period between the Inter- Greek police open fire with tear gas on construc

SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday December Ist, 1976.

LE 001 national School and Healy's visit to Athens on the 14th January, 1976, that isation. the London leadership made every meeting. possible effort to gag the secretary They of the Greek organisation and to Commission interview all the to strangle any critique coming from "moral the ranks. order? discussion Within the leadership of the They Greek movement, the London found clique had dates Control who under colleagues, since, at the 7th Confer- expel him! ence which was held in the summer, Commission and, the criterion for the election of the members of the Central Committee in Greece was the degree of servility accept members, being of loyalty carrying more unfavour- displayed for the English leader- - on the ship. model declarations After which, periods, proposal by Banda. Sklavos ceased to be the editor of the being newspaper, allowed to their morale. from this duty, and to devote himself "uninterrupted" to After Each was called up of the his leading tasks! individually and In the local branches of the WIL people servile to the English clique many times were openly acting faction, calling on the members to fight for their into the the expulsion party. costs Sklavos from the party. international dis-

POLICE

philosophical Classie 011l

PUPPETS

Now, after the mass expulsions, The secretary of the organisation the has been recon- organisation been had banned not only from structed as the Workers Internation- fighting for his views in front of the alist League (Majority) [now The discussion but aliso renamed the Communist Inter- discussing the differences finally fixed the 3rd-4th Tom nationalist League, But Ed.]. the which appeared in the International January factionalists of Healy intervene to School within the Central the pretext of public meetings •of the Committee to whom, as the leader "security arising out of majority by provocatively inform- bf Greek delegation, he the murder was ing the owners of the various halls obliged to give a descriptive and Welch in In reality this that "there will be incidents" and informative account of what had postponement necessary for urging them to cancel the bookings.

happened there. They even call the police The last conference of the piganisation, rejecting completely the perspectives put Forward by the Central Committee had decided explicitly in favour of the continuation of the discussion, which the he circulation of internal bulletins i9da new conference in December He did not the meet During this time, Healy's Greek leadership puppets 111| the Aissolved dictatorially one aggregate of the IC. Instead, hotel where he held meetings with ot nis faction inside the 11CHl0 Greek section, to organise and carry split. rather "green" • FI of the faction said later member did not appear because tuat nealy he had been accused of going to the US and expelling Wohlforth!

RESIGN

The arch-factionalist of the WRP could not, keep however. up appearances in this way. At the Central Committee meet- ing which was supposedly to open the so-called "international" dis- but without the presence of an IC representative, L.

Sklavos was forbidden to speak the political implications of the philo- sophical questions (such as for instance the participation of the WRP member White on the 'corpor- atist? "joint management" bodies of Leyland. Under these conditions Sklavos was forced to resign from his position of secretar and CC member, in order to deprive Healy and his factionalists of every excuse and enable him to struggle for workers on strike in July last year.

battles hetween Athens studente ard rint polin and, having unprecedented done have working class. The fact holder" at this split. it. sity. belong lo a organisation our method. November 1973: Trolley buses with burned out tyres line the street after Irotsky all sense records, to vigorous the was also Page 7 Ütherwise there is not a spli dissolution. The construction of the present possible only by the dialectical negation of the past.

Throughout the whole post-mat period the Trotskyist morement i Greece and internationally was B04 able itself on the metho established by the Fourth Inter- the method of the Trans itional Programme. This has to be done tom. The split reflects precisely this histori demand which is posed sharply Joe of or sericat place Whole decades ment. Even important an PIODIeTS OI sick of the mises of the distinguish, Lenin says, mises. - "learn to dis- facilitate so as to share in in more than this the form, wood build party to unbending armed able to open up, tives. This means that On the side there are delay critically the and oppor- with them their erroneous before it is ripe. basic. task. new member from recruited undeveloped people have fresh It is in any case these forces will that assist the best the This enough uncompromising Fourth Intern- ationalists. The action historical forces world for the of the the forces of International Committee on and the Transitional which permeates it. will be destroyed. We will assist in this, Trotskyism can now triumph.

February 1976.

годе 8

BRECHT

"POEMS'

Brecht: 'Poems' By guest reviewer, Terry Eagleton.

Bertolt Brecht is the greatest socialist artist of all time, and - many would claim - the greatest revolution- ary theorist of art as well.

Influenced by the Bolshevik Futurists and Constructivists, Brecht remorselessly mystified the privileged status sacred, assigned to art by bourgeois idealism: art for him was a social practice rather than a visionary inspiration, a process of material ¡production rather than a mysterious object.

Dismantling the bourgeois theatre of Ilusion', which hypnotised its audience into emotional self-indulgence, Brecht produced instead of drama ('epic" torm theatre) whose very structure was dialectical - which played off scene against scene, script against actor against audience, order ang, to hock its observers into consciousness of Nothing in such a theatre was taken as matural, taken for granted - not even the which Brecht and his collaborators would constantly re-write on the basis of an Nothing be hidden: the was. actor bowed himselt as an actor, rather than pre- ending be someone else, the stage remind the clawsms were on snow to adience that they were in a theatre rather than the real world. Only by insisting on its own artifice could drama send its audience out of the heatre into political society, put their hamed conscioureess into practice.

Brecht's output, Ittrary consisted of and these poetry; 'olumes bring to the English reader for fist time roughly half of the thousand poems in the collected German edition.

this revolutionaries, then, event of some importance; for ourgeois literary critics, it can only add to eir = inbarrassment. Brecht is clearly one of the major deis of the twentieth century: and for most ourerois criticism it is simply self-contra- that ctory a writer be at once - as walt peniy agitational and as artistically superb Brecht. He can't be patronised, populist shion, as an artist who oversimplified his order "bring to the to cople"; for what makes Brecht's writing so stantly communicable Lace. oncrete, dramatic quality - is exactly what akes it so artistically fine.

Nor can he be praised as some 'proletkult' no sentimentally gloritying the masses; for

SPOTLIGHT

As the pound collapses still Yet the rther on foreign Group achanges, Callaghan ounces his determination another year of strict wage which concludes: trq and the official econ- *We must c forecast predicts increas- employment, the 'lefts' Labour Party have only strategy... ing to say - the Labour "alternative aent must be saved.

REVIEW:

Published by Eyre Methuen, 3 volumes, £1.95 each, paperback.

his poetry is always polemical, aggressive and ironic, intervening into consciousness rather than slavishly reflecting The first volume (1913-28) takes us through the years of Brecht's apprentice ship in Marxism, up to the point of the Wall Street crash. This of the period the young. "bohemian' Brecht, more anti-bourgeois than anti-capitalist, more pro-underdog than pro- oscillate proletariat; and poems and accordingly between lyrical vision deliberate crudity, sensual and sardonic by The second volume (1929-38) represents trom the rowth of German fascism to his exile: an as his writing becomes leaner and tougher under that political it teaches a peak of stark, almost intolerable dramatic power surely unrivalled in modern literature.

was a denial of all it stood for".

ON

REFORMISM

WHAT IS THEIR

'ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY'?

"left' wing Tribune to this riddie. has recently published, The "lefts' under the name of Brian Sedgemore Healey and Callaghan because they "The Alternative Strategy" for the defend capitalist document "lefts" Labour coverell, because the tain capitalism in a different way.

choose now...between Number one the catastrophe of current policies 'alternatives' is the call for import and the socialism of the alternative controls. Import would argue, ternatter a strategy look at this ment, reverse the balance strategy and GenTel Tribune Group reveals the answer towards socialism. Brecht Stripped of imagery, the poetry of this period can find its artistry what often in the seems simple reportage as poem about the carpet-weavers of Kuyan-Bulak, the they had scraped together for a bust of Lenin to fight swamp- fever instead: "So they helped themselves by honouring /Lenin, and Honoured him by helping themselves, and /thus Had understood him well."

makes use of every fiterary fume that comes typical Brecht to hand ballad, song, aphorism, Chinese epigram - in order to render the experience of the German masses in the 1930s.

His constant artistic emphasis is on what expose ontradictions, communicater ace, expose contradictions, And it isn't surprising transform. that the work of the final volume (1938-1956), the years of his exile in America and return to Germany, certain should betray The East German workers' uprising 1953 - "Brecht was politically complicit with Stalinism; but the form of his art The document carefully forward not one argument for this cure-all, but instead insists that the arguments are "well known" do not disagree with What then are their arguments?

They claim: that 'unfair compe- policies, but tition' competitors want to main- by overseas undercutting the prices of British in their list of goods at forcing manufacturers close factories controls, they and increase unemploy- reduce that unemploy- restricting of pay- would mean a larger market for Britain goods at home and British workers employed while SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday Ist December, 1976.

impoverishment of poetic quality.

FOr how was Brecht to write in Los • And how was he to write in a Angeles? Stalinist state? Brecht was politically complicit with Stalinism; but the form of his art was denial of all it stood for. Critical, experi- interrogative, open-ended, ironic: LICItal. nothing could be further from the closed dogmatism of the Eastern Europe to which Brecht returned. That he was himself a man riddled with contradictions is clear: grim and angry yet deflating, committed fiercely but always with a canny eye to his own interests, brilliant art-theorist with the practical shrewdness of a tramp, a tough- minded rationalist who relished humour , d master 0i sle dealt with the most complex contradictions of his time, a magnificent Marxist artist who didn't care whether his poems survived or not. But it is precisely Brecht's acceptance of impermanency, his liking for things fluid and half-finished, his hatred of deadening 'per- fection', which shows us the deeply historic- al perspective which informs all his work.

It is a perspective which he is able to turn himself, thinking of how future gener- on ations will remember him and his comrades: "For we went, changing countries oftener /than our shoes Through the wars of the classes, /despairing When there was injustice only, and no /rebellion And yet we know: Hatred, even of meanness Contorts the features. Anger, even against injustice, Makes the voice hoarse. Oh, we Who wanted to prepare the ground for (friendlines Could not ourselves be friendly.

But you, when the time comes at last And man is a helper to man With forebearance."

PHOTO:

Callaghan talking to Brian Sedgemore addition reducing imports and improving the balance of pay- the protection ments; that within of import barriers, full employment and industrial expansion would be about; more- is all this would be over, about without the need for the British Labour Party or the lefts' to raise their the capitersagainst the profits of finger imports The attractions of this 'strategy" for the 'lefts', who are petrified at the prospect of more raising finger against Healey and Callachan.

THE WATERFRONT

SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday Ist December, 1976.

One of the last remaining sugar coatings of the bitter pill Social Contract was the wiped out by the Lords early in November. This was the defeat of the Dock Work Regulation Bill (1976), which has been continually attacked by the right wing as a 'dockers charter' introduction into Parlia- since its ment in December 1975. The defeat of this Bill proves that the Callaghan leadership left to offer absolutely nothing the working class. The final death-blow to the Bil was struck by the Lords' amend- Dock ment restricting Labour Scheme (replacing the one established in 1967 and which was responsible for the ending of casual labour on the docks) to only haif a mile from the waterfront.

This makes a complete nonsense of the original Bill, which in any in the view of many dock case, itself totally inad. workers, was equate. This set out to create a five corridor mile for scheme around the coastline and the major inland waterways. This protected the would have jobs, wages and conditions of those workers employed major ports but who were involved in cargo handling inland container bases, and warehouses cold storage depots, which have been set up there by the employers operate with attempt cheaper labour in pursuit of profit.

This is the reason for the massive campaign against the Bill launched warehous- by the cold-storage and ing monopolies, coordinated by central office and aided and Tory abetted in the Commons by Labour scabs Walden and Macintosh (who sat in the press bar whilst the vote was taking place!) After T&GWU leader Jack Jones had would not that he the challenge the government defeat the Bill, the National O1 Docks Delegate Conference (T&G) meeting on November 22nd, at its voted by 55 votes to 18 to press instead for new legislation in the which would next session reestablish the original 5-mile limit.

This was passed after a previous resolution calling for national strike action to defend the Bill was ruled out of order by Jones. In this Jones and the rest of the T&G bureaucracy have avoided the fight to defend the Bill, still claiming that the Bill "partial victory" since it brings the unregistered ports into the scheme.

Whilst this is the case, the ½-mile corridor still allows "cowboy' firms to cargo-handling operations -run outside, but still close to the docks while in cases the half- the mile doesn't even traditional docks boundaries of already registered! The Docks Bill, far from taking away jobs from other workers. - as has been lyingly asserted in every the Daily capitalist journal from Express to the Economist - would

TUC

obvious. Its benefits to the are working however non- , existent. this" so-called strategy but an illusion, a cheap nothing conjuror's trick. If the magic of import controls could make the economes

WINN

disappear for British capitalists, Healey and Callaghan, who in every serve the employers, would have used it months ago.

At press: he te: use to impose impo-: they their =3330= competitors restrictions c= Britie expons 2=se

JOBS KNIFED ON

A look at the consequences of the defeat of the Dock Work Regulation Bill (1976).

hey may lose money through it not only defend the jobs of dockers Yet the much worse conditions but would have extended the rights they 30 of for workers in the non-registered have won years ports led to much work being taken less struggle to thousands away from the traditional areas and organised workers. to the unregistered ports, The need for such a Bill to cover diverted such as Portsmouth. and wharves unregistered

COUSE

began to arise during the late sixties and early seventies emergence of container bases, ware- houses, cold storage depots and the build-up of unregistered ports outside the influence of the 1967 National Dock Labour Scheme.

These being by set up Welc faced with employers organised labour force, strongly found themselves at first unable to impose speed up, redundancies and low wages in the industry.

As time has gone by, however, the National Dock Labour Board - with full collaboration of the union been able leadership has Jones redundancies and the These wharves and ports are able impose run-down of manning levels. This profitably and offer to operate handling has taken place mainly through lower charges, and even wastage" cases, than "natural (voluntary higher wages in some redundancy schemes) and severance firms in the scheme who have to while basic regulations, (early comply with all the retirement) so low that fish- charges and levies in the scheme wages are now will the jobs bobbers in protect Ili WIld brought into the scheme fear that conditions of the dockers.

TRIDES I MOY CONGRES

The TUC: voted for both wage control and import controls.

survive, various capitalist countríes British protect the capitalism to have attempted and will attempt to profits of its ailing and backward force other capitalists to cede their industry from its competitors.

of markets to them, both by economic The steady introduction' competition and diplomatic import controls by the major capit- alist countries would herald a slump pressure The Labour government has just on a massive scale with the collapse of world trade. negowalug suen agret- ments with Japan evestonbul ding It would be combined with an attack on all the gains won by the imports, televisions electrical goods. working class. It was in the 1920's and 30's But these policies are not (It accident that that such policies were last applied socialist. 15 no Fascist Spain has the most exten- world wide. The capitalist countries of including Britain, attempted to cut sie ster import controls their sosagetitors throats by under- The non registered docks are free with minimum to operate manning levels and rely on casual labour with no guarantee of work or pay. Faced with the fact that jobs being taken from the were away traditional areas to badly organ- , the dockers began areas. Ised series of actions culminating in the bitter strike of 1972. of lowever, the only outcom he strike was the abolition of th Register Temporary Unattached (TUR) and dock jobs continue to dramatically while tonnages fall (At Hull for instance, increase. of dockers has fallen the number from 4,500 to 1,800 in less than ten years.) Catamaran The Barge-Aboard

(B.A.C.A.T.)

system (which until Hull blocked recently docks) was the latest attempt by the employer to reduce operating

COSS

By where operating system barges filled with cargo wort Rotterdam, by transported mother ship to Hull and disconnec- ted and sent up river far inland unloading an unregistered ports altogether cut out any costly handling by registered dock worKers. The result was the collapse of world trade and record unemploy-

1C CLOULEY

Behind their protective tariff walls. capitalists the mounleu a steady attack on the working class; prices were increased, wages cut laws introduced to to break the strength of the try working class. Import controls were accompan- ied by not by socialism, reaction. Of course none of the Tribunites British who advocate protecting capitalism by import controls would advocate such an attack on the working class. While they are not prepared to lead a fight against the right-wing in the Labour Party who act entirely capitalism, Tor willing neither they to act are openly against the working class.

Instead they would like to find a way in which they can reconcile the demands of the working class with capitalism and retain their "left-wingers" without fighting the right-wing, let alone the employers. But none of this is possible. The sharpening of the economic crisis internationally reduces their schemes for revitalising British capitalism to daydreams with which they deceive and contuse themselves aed he marine class The scity di incor controls Page 9 The mood amongst dockers, is that it will bring un- therefore, registered ports into the scheme, at these unus benchtig ports, but there is no guarantee that work will not continue to be diverted to them from the trad- itional ports. The latest indication of this has been at Portsmouth where the T&GWU bureaucracy has acted in such a way that dockers at this non-registered lifted port had principled blacking they imposed on freight diverted from South- registered such as ampton, Poole and Weymouth.

Southampton dockers have now imposed a strong picket at Ports mouth to enforce the blacking.

2,000 additional jobs are now the threatened WiLD closure of Preston docks, which ha suffered heavily through the build of non-registered ports such a at Heysham. demand by the Prestor The dockers that their union, the T&GWU, call for national action to defend their jobs has to be support and extended to include any ed of jobs througt threatened loss management run-down and closure in al maustries. The struggle the dock • 11 against job-cuts through modernis ation and speed-up began with th introduction of containerisation i • the and principles sixties position then was that mechanis ation could only be accepted on th basis of no loss of jobs and throug dock the nationalisation ot the under workers management containerisation However wa sold to dockers by the leadershij of de-casual through the promise better conditions and isation, guaranteed wage. In the same way today, the figh has to of th be for the defence Work Regulation Bill in Dock i it original form and for its extensio o cover all areas of cargo-handlin Tied in with this, the fight has detend all docks and alago ont docks and cargo job through work sharing on full pay.

To prevent the closure of dock the demand has for to thos opening the books of threatening closure, owners inspection by elected committee of workers This would lay the basis dockers plan running the docks and for nationa without isation compensatio under workers' management.

Such a struggle will require th building of a new political leader ship on the docks able to challeng present bureaucratic T&GWI leadership. From our correspondent in HULL setting jobs. for British worker against jobs for Japanese, Germa Brazilian workers is muddleheaded, reactionar diversion. Most treacherous of all thei attempts to dress their nationalis positions in socialist clothing is th argument at the Labou that controls are of benefit to worker the because sale o Lucy cheap goods produced by worker on starvation wages in Asia This is not a policy to aid th workers in the ex-colonies to figh their continued exploitation imperialism, but to side wit imperialism to starve the worker in the colonies. Import controis are no altel to Healey's policies; the native neither lead towards socialism, no defend jobs. The alternative is a fight directe towards the nationalisation of th of the British capitalis property th the management of working class. fight British worker In this must find their allies in the worke and peasants of Asia, Africa and th rest of the world. It is socialist internat:- ralism of it: "efts not the nationalism which will defend the Diss o Bitil markers.

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

Page 10

LABOUR PARTY

WITCH-HUNT

HOTS UP

The storm over the appoint- They have taken a similar stance group member Andy Bevan as MPs who verbally protest Labour Party Youth Officer is an indication of the general nothing to remove their advocates.

"Militant' group taking up the restricted the entire cuts campaign The witch-hunt against Bevan is Indeed the Militant's position is the same as that of the Tribunites

HUL

him but against all militants within the Labour Party. But for this very must be kept in office to keep the reason it must be fought by every "It wouk be a serious mistake, The demand must be for an end to all bans and proscriptions - and the (Militant, 6th August) Foot backs right wing position both of the extreme right wing - ganging_up with the Tory press to attack Labour militants and of the so-called 'left' wing.

Repor Chris Davies.

PHOTO:

As the Callaghan leadership adopts more and more openly policies, ( embracing atmosphere within the Labour Party itself is being massively stepped up conscious attempt even the most feeble prospect of a fight back. This is drawing out the real Newham coup fails remove officers in the branch The contempt of the right- letter, as required by party rules; wing for workers' democracy but a secret notice had been distri- has been exposed again buted to selected members of the North-East Labour Newham order to whip up pro- branch in Party. Prentice supporters where opponents would have no right to Lee and Right-wingers Eddie in a bid to save the терту. Ray Massey, On top of all this the meeting coalitionist MP Reg of which saw the 'coup' was entirely of Prentice, took control orchestrated by particularly Kensington branch of the party.

obscure individual from Oxford Officers and General Manage- 70 miles away - named Mr. Julian Committee delegates were ment Lewis. Temoved' 20 members when All that is known of this gentle- (mainly OAPs), man is that he has a legal training previously attended meetings were and was once a member of the brought to a meeting for a coup' Tory Party. against the left-wing. Investigations taking are place, but this affair raises import- This branch leadership had not ant questions for those members of Prentice, but had only opposed fought like labour the Labour Party who wish to fight for policies movement defence against attacks the right-wing. by fascists on immigrants, and for a What other dirty tricks are being used? Who dredged up MI. Julian sliding scale of wages against the 447 pay limit. Lewis? What is his relationship to Social Tory the right-wing The local paper,

CALCILE

Newham Recorder was ecstatic at Democratic Alliance? Yet their Already other investigations are this victory for Prentice.

its tune in progress concerning the activities next edition had to change ward with the headline 'Prentice a right-wing dominated Shocker: Ward Vote Probe.

where someone may have inadvert- The former officers. had been ently signed up fictitious members doubt entirely objections with the following

E-LL KILO

the methods used by the right- accidental effect of gaining the increased representation on The reasons? Not only had Do Newham North-East General Vanisement Committee crackdown by the bureaucratic leadership of and file members now seems Executive members. over 300 teachers who had lobbied Union's headquarters, in support of Newham, who are under threat of suspension from the union.

number of lobbyers replied by arre crowd gathered outside. The basic cause of this struggle prevent Little Ilford teachers carry.

refusing to cover classes from which the teacher is absent for more than The teachers were immediately

FIGHT IN

HOTELS

whom have famines and took the

NUT CRACKDOWN

Fred Jarvis,

NUT

instructed by General cease "un- Secretary, to official" action. When this was not done, the entire membership at the school were suspended, until they undertaking not to sen a corm carry out unofficial action.

In other words, while education is savaged by government cuts and thousands of trained teachers join lengthening dole Jarvis'

LITTLI

Part of Saturday's lobby of the NUT Executive 1n to the just part of the national picture of SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday Ist December, 1976.

is to main preoccupation stop militant "unofficial" action by his membership. The Little Ilford teachers must be defended against absolutely these bureaucratic attacks - and an the offensive must begin against reactionary NUT leaders who gang up with management against their own members.

FORD

Birenda Singh, one of the suspended Little Ilford teachers. coming layers of workers forward into struggle. All the country workers turning to the unions as their are meet only …ot beginning to the attacks on wages and condit- ions, and they are finding that these aims throw them immediately into struggle. The Randolph in particular has demonstrated that among these workers are a high proportion new of workers beginning women to the trade play their full role in union movement. must be for the The call now Randolph

T&GWU

make dispute official and to treat both disputes as part of the same battie.

workers involved the Certaily see clearly that in fighting different they fighting the employers faces, and in extracting sup- same port from their official they own must fight every inch of the way.

BINGO STRIKE SOLID

THE

WOMEN

STRIKERS

demanding union recognition at the Club One bingo and cinema chain in Coventry remain solid in their official dispute. still outside Pickets are firm's premises every day, winning considerable response from would-be though the local T&GWU bureaucracy seems to be little broaden the doing action and easure a rapid has been A fund-raising social organised in support of the strikers *oth at Transpor House, Devember -held on Friday December

BEHIND NUM 'EARLY

DULIALISI IRESD,

Wednesday When British Leyland announced the ending of car Canley, assembly at Triumph, in Coventry workers were assured that there would be no compulsory redundancy. However, a report on Leyland's 'Confidential Plans' for Canley's workforce, has now appeared in the Telegraph. Coventry Evening (25.11.76). The report states that between now and the end of next year some 2,000 of Canley's 4,000 assembly workers will lose their jobs.

At the same time the number of workers producing aval boxes and axles will also fall.

BURDEN

BL have always said that when the plant goes Over full-time to engine production there will be jobs for some assembly workers. Why then will the number of engine jobs fall over the next year? of finding replace-

HEEDTEC

ment jobs now falls most heavily on the other Leyland plants in the area Coventry Jaguars. and the expanding plant at Solihull which is a lone way trom canev to which Triumph workers already many travel considerable distances.

Management obviously hope that the offer of jobs at Solihull will be turned down by workers daunted by the major distances involved.

DRAW BACK

Those turning down work at Solihull would not be eligible for redundancy pay Workers at Canley are worried over job security and have begun to draw back from the changeover.

Shop stewards have refused to allow a test run (at Solihull) of the Dolomite Stage man dover in bly 1977.

due begin two- Meanwhile, stewards at Solihull, over lack of concrete wanner job assurances, have resisted the transfer of workers from Canley.

They have argued that Canley should be treated as Leyland cars; that their service at Canley should not 1976.

ENGINEERING

TRIUMPH JOBS

In DANGER count; and that higher grade jobs should go to Solihull workers first.

Leyland management now feel in a position to play off different sections against each other - with the job fears lurking in the back- ground. This is shown by Leyland Cars Geoffrey Personnel Director, Whalen's comment that: "I cannot believe the unions will take a position that will lead to men being out of work, rather than that will a position keep them work." (Coventry Evening Tele- graph 25.11.76). T&GWU branches are being asked over the next few weeks to submit resolutions to next July's Biennial Delegate Conference the supreme policy making body of the union.

T&GWU

was the previous Conference - in July 1975 - which was used by Jones and the Wilson- Healey leadership of the Labour government introduce the £6 pay limit.

ACCEPTED

At that Conference the social contract was accepted on the basis of a number of stringent conditions including a reduction in unemploy- ment, a price freeze and a massive increase in public spending.

But the subsequent action of the T&GWU General Executive Council in support of the present 5% pay policy under conditions where none of those conditions have been The unanimous decision of the NUM Executive to ballot miners the of question further action in pursuit of early retirement is a conscious fraud. Not of course that the miners do not case for traine early retirement. On the contrary: fact that at this stace in the twentieth British century miners on to the are stil forced to work age of 65 is a crushing indictment of the treachery of successive right- wing NUM leaderships. Gormley and his allies nOW glibly argue how much better retire- ment conditions are in other Europ-

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

MDIVISION

Leyland would be quite happy betwe disputes over jobs b sak out between Canley and Solihull stewards.

FULL ACCESS

Stewards in both plants must instead demand full access Leyland's books as the only way check the on management assurances of job security and establish firm basis of unity between all Leyland workers in the struggle for the nationalisation of Leyland workers' manage- ACt NoW For TaGWU Conference fulfilled is clearly contrary to the policy of the union. Branches wishing to raise these issues and who wish to propose a policy to defend the living standards of the working class must submit their resolutions now.

Callaghan has announced in the Queen's speech that he wants a further year of wage controls after July 31st when the 5% policy ends. The T&GWU Conference will draw to a close only two weeks before that date. elihood is that jones will othe will once likelihood is that again try to use the conference to put the seal on a further blistering attack on the working class.

For this reason, and as part of today's fight against the reactionary wage controls imposed upon T&GWU members by its leadership, a full-scale fight against any future controls and for policies to main- tain the value of the wage packet must be launched in the union.

RETIREMENT'

ean countries and in the USA - as if they only discovered these facts yesterday! Why has the retirement issue suddenly come to the fore after of being swept under Because carpet? all other the workers, miners are now beginning to recognise the maicted upon them by ve TOS massive scale 472% deal with Healey - imposed the with central collaboration of the NUM leadership. To head off the feeling on Gormley wages, had to come up with a classic diversion of some kind and the obvious candidate was the retirement issue, on which

WHERE DID DOCKS

MILITANTS GO?

The first registered dockers for instance, 01 docks

T&GWL

to be compulsorily sacked in 19 stewards who had their credential nearly years are to be withdrawn by the Regional Com effectively abandoned by the lifted mittee one-time militant docks dele- the officials - but instead caved it officials demand that thes gate conference. the act to lift blacking action from th This is the outcome of the employers' Barge move by the conterence chaiman.

Aboard Catamaran

{BACAT

at the instigation of

T&GWU

system. General Secretary, Jack Jones, The stewards lifted this. black rule "out of order" a motion for the mas without even consulting action in defence of 180 dockets meet to himpose vend met facing redundancy with the impose proposed closure of port facilities rewarded by the officials with the at Preston. of return their stewards The employers have not credentials! attempted to sack registered The fight in defence of jobs ir dockers since 1949. The moves at Preston and other docks now crie Preston are clearly a curtain raiser new wholesale attack leadership prepared to fight jobs as the employers scent the principle against both the abject collaboration of the T&GWU employers' offensive th and leadership, and move in on bureaucratic of thr dictatorship full-blown offensive to drive up T&GWU's of appointed army profits. officials. While Jones was clearly at the centre of the decision not even to discuss for the active support

*FOOTNOTE.

It would appea • Preston dockers, this must not that in reaction to the betrayals o divert from the fact that the docks the T&GWU officials on Hull dock delegate conference itself is now "Blue' union has gained clearly unable to give any indepen- number of stewards positions in th dent lead the to membership. recently held (and previously twic Yesterday's militants have today postponed) elections to the Dock become simply Jones' errand boys • Shop Stewards Com meekly accepting bureaucratic mittee. injunctions and decrees.

AREX

JE DEMAND U

NITE

The banner of the Grunwick's strike committee is seen here on the recent demonstration against racialism called by the TUC and the Labour Party. The strike, now several months old, is over a demand for union recognition by the workforce, many of whom are paid scandalously low wages.

CALL

everyone agrees, and which could had 30 years ago, but simply use it it Bast in theory be conceded by as a diplomatic bargaining counter government through in their talks with the NCB various manoeuvres arguing it is not crucial that NUM IL covered by the social contract.

militants use every within avenue the union to press for a fight to

SAFE TOPIC

reject the 4½% deal, to restore th In event it will provide a cuts already made in Livine any safe topic for talk standards by controls by among union wage demanding militants, while Gormley and Daly a substantial increas with the get serious job of policing the pay laws alongside rotect against inflation. B not done Jones and Murray. nOW, huge cuts in Ica wages will be felt by every mine A heavy vote for action to back the early retirement demand is by the next NUM Conference.

therefore guaranteed, though it is Early retirement vital also more than likely demand, particularly for minert that the Executive will de on cant be a to a But you can't eat it. take it not as a mandate for all-out strike action to win conditions miners should have

SPIES PROTECTED BY

"CIA" EXPULSIONS

Page 12 The Labour government deport the still intends to Philip American citizens Agee (a campaigner against the CIA) and Mark Hosenball (a journalist) on grounds that they are a threat to "national security" Despite a mounting campaign in the Labour movement, and PHOTO: Chris Davles. Report 100 MPs, opposition by almost Home Secretary Merlyn Rees has refused to give any details of the "evidence" against them allegedly produced for him by the spies and informers of the secret services.

NOT TOLD

"Star Rees is using the provisions of the 1971 Chamber" Act under which Immigration be deported foreigners can danger to "national security" but of the without being told any specific accusations against them.

prove to be a reasonable man' - formerly a CIA agent Agee who would see through in Latin America, now Dut "scenario" the secret working to investigate and expose painted by We doubt it! Rees services. the CIA's activities - gave notice this procedure because he at the Home Office on Monday of using "evidence" that would has his intention to appeal against no explained stanis three "wise deportation. he men" His three are afterwards, he is in a position of picked to do his bidding. One of Rees- having to account to Sir Richard Hayward, is a appointed three man appeal panel them, former leading official of the UPW the for any acts on his part in on the Post Office later has been and four yeats he Board. living in Britain, but without ever The hand of the CIA in Rees' being told the precise charges.

actions is obvious. The depor- hoped that Rees would Agee Monthly& Special Fund still stands at only the November Fund with only know that much of the outstanding £160 is there, but uns two days to £446.34. has not been sent in yet. It is vital that comrades fight to achieve the fund target by the end of the month and not delay into the following month.

So can we have a big effort to collect the outstanding fund and make an carly start on the December Fund which we would like to see completed before Christmas if at all possible.

continues to come in, but at a slow pace. We have The Special Fund now collected £702.09 out of a total target of £1,000. Again a big effort is needed to raise the outstanding £300 as quickly as possible.

All donations should be sent to: Socialist Press Monthly Fund 31, Dartmouth Park Hill London NW5 1HR Fellow student mand for ye Militant action was expec- a reprimand received ted to result from a meeting same offence which arose out of of students at North East the occupation by students of the London Polytechnic (NELP) which director's on Tuesday, called to discuss the Governors was taking place earlier this year.

expulsion of the Andy Strouthous, President of the The decision to go ahead with been the expulsion Students Union. timed coincide deliberately to

"VIOLENCE"

with the end of term in the hope action from of avoiding militant member of the Strouthous, the students at NELP. who International Socialists, cuts-back taking a course in sociology at the But with enormous in education the order of the day, Poly was expelled under a rule it is essential that NELP students which states that no student may necessary to "threaten against any take any violence defend their President from this person at the Polytechnic attack. incite others to do so.

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Rees against Agee and tation threats Hosenball can be carried out with- stopped. days. They must in widest possible This demands the mobilisation in the labour and trade union movement to counter this attack on democratic rights.

Activity organised by the Agee Hosenball Defence Campaign include: - A picket of the Home Office Wednesday 12- (Whitehall) every 2pm. A picket of the Home Office 12th December at on Saturday League. Name. Address: SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday Ist December, 1976.

PUnmO. Andrew Wiard. Report.

Agee and the American noon Embassy in Grosvenor Square at 2.30pm. A day of action on Wednes public day 8th December, meetings and a "teach-in" on the

CIA

They also published a "CIA Briefing" giving pamphlet details of CIA plots - as set out in US Senate and Congres- papers. (Price 20p from the sional Agee-Hosenball Defence Campaign, c/o NCCL, 186, Kings Rd. which CrOss WC1 donations and resolutions of sup- port should also be sent).

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Please send me more information about the Workers Socialist

NE TIP

GENEVA...from Front Page.

herded. The white regime continues to inflicting heavy claim they are casualties on the black nationalists return for very few losses on their side. Even given the predict- of these exaggerations figures, there seems no doubt that the white forces have in the short inflicted significant casualties run on the liberation forces.

One of the main reasons for this is the confusion which must created among the been liberation forces by abject tne compromises being made by the leaders of all four of the black Zimbabwean delegations Geneva. The delegations of the Front Line" Angola including states, and Mozambique share since they have all responsibilty, used their influence to promote compromise with the racists and imperialists. Smith "Patriotic Front" dele- gates claim to have won a conces- British sion getting "fix" a firm date government to for independence under majority rule on March Ist, 1978 "concession" means This nothing at all since British govern- ments have made quite clear for the last 53 years that they are not prepared to lift a finger to support democracy in Rhodesia. guarantee the overrow of white only which racist rule Rhodesia is the successful pursuit of the armed black liberation struggle.

the Geneva The purpose OI talks is to défeat this struggle. The only principled course open those who profess to offer leader- to the black workers and peasants is to break off those talks at once and to give unambiguous support to the armed struggle. WAGE FREEZE...from Page 1.

go on top of and not instead of an increase in the basic rate.

The Workers Socialist League full the calls for support to workers at Rubery Owen and Other Transmissions. Salisbury be brought into workers must action by their side - but we have to adopt a policy that does more than simply fight for more money. must challenge capitalism's right to make the working class pay for the crisis. This means that on top of sub- stantial increases, catching-up wages must be defended against inflation through a sliding scale of wages clause providing automatic increases to keep pace with the rising cost of living as assessed by elected committees of trade unionists and housewives.

BROKEN•

This means the Social Contract be broken. For this reason must the fight on wages must go along side the fight for the removal of and their Cellagement by any Labour Mrs teplacement by any prepared to alternate socialist socialist alternative policies. These are the policies around which the recall conference Union Wage Control and will be held by the Democracy for Democracy in the Campaign Labour Movement in March next